1 week ago

1 week ago

Pac-12 Set Your TiVo: 11.11.11

We’ve seen scrimmages, exhibitions, and 2K Sports Classic games throughout the past month, but today just FEELS like the start of college basketball. There is a full slate of games across the nation, including seven Pac-12 affairs. Washington and Oregon State will get their regular season started tomorrow, while Utah and Washington State will wait until Monday night. Arizona is already 2-0 on the season and will play again Sunday afternoon.
Oregon @ #7 Vanderbilt – 7:00 PM PST on Fox Sports South (***)

If Oregon Is To Pull The Road Upset, Stopping Senior Forward Jeffrey Taylor Is A Must

The Pac-12 game of the weekend will take place in Nashville tonight, where the up-and-coming Ducks will take on national power Vanderbilt. Oregon has caught some breaks in the past weeks in their quest for an upset, mainly with starting VU center Festus Ezeli out due to a suspension/injury. That means Vandy will rely on Jeffrey Taylor to do the scoring down low. UO big men Tyrone Nared and Tony Woods will be charged with handling Taylor on defense. In the backcourt, the Commodores are led by junior shooting guard John Jenkins. Jenkins averaged 19.5 PPG last year and will be held down by double-teams from Jabari Brown and Garrett Sim. Those doubles will leave players like Dai-Jon Parker and Brad Tinsley open, so if those two are able to knock down their open shots the Commodores will win easily.

If the aforementioned Duck players (Nared, Woods, Brown, and Sim) all step up, Oregon should keep this one close for the first half and some of the second. But with a hostile crowd right on top of them and all of the size and talent that the Commodores bring in, I can’t see Oregon pulling this upset.

Loyola Marymount @ #20 UCLA – 7:35 PM PST on Fox Sports West (**)

UCLA opens up their “Bruin road show” tonight at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. I’d like to think that the Lions don’t have a chance in this one, but a few factors makes me think twice. First, UCLA has lost these types of games in the past couple years. They have fallen to the likes of Cal State Fullerton, Portland, Long Beach State, and Montana since 2009-10, proving that they are prone to losses in these games. Secondly, junior power forward Reeves Nelson is a game-time decision. If Nelson is out, LMU will have the luxury of focusing the majority of their attention on David Wear in the post. And finally, we get to the disadvantage of not having Pauley Pavilion at the Bruin’s disposal. If this game were at Pauley, it would be 95% powder blue in the stands. Instead they go across town to the Sports Arena, and with Loyola Maymount University also in Los Angeles, you will see a significant increase in Lion fans.

Even with all of those worries, this isn’t a super-talented LMU team. If shooting guard Vernon Teel was still with the Lions, things would be different. I might even pick them to pull the upset. But without Teel I think this team will have some major chemistry issues early on this season. Group that with the fact that UCLA has more talent at every position on the floor, I’m taking the Bruins for a ten point win.

The Official RTC Star System

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2014* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game